Appliance maker Bosch is showing off its first Matter-compatible appliance at the CES show this week. The Series 100 French Door Bottom Mount Refrigerator was released in November and should be available for purchase in the US this spring.
The cooler sells for $2,500 and has an onboard chip that supports Matter. A firmware update for the smart home standard is coming this summer, says Eelco Lammertink of BSH, owner of Bosch, Siemens, Thermador and Gaggenau.
The 100 series is the sister product to the Matter-compatible Siemens XXL refrigerator that I saw at IFA Berlin last November. This integrated model will reach the European market in a similar period. Lammertink tells me that BSH plans to bring Matter to all of its appliances across its Bosch, Siemens and Thermador lines, starting with refrigerators this year, one more category of appliances next year and three in 2026.
Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy/The Verge
The 100 Series will support Matter 1.3, allowing you to control the temperature remotely and receive refrigerator notifications on your smart home platform of choice. That way, a smart speaker can announce when the door has been left open, if desired.
While many smart refrigerators already have these features, with Matter the connection between the appliance and the ecosystem becomes local, making it faster and more secure. Currently, only Samsung SmartThings and Home Assistant support devices on Matter, but Lammertink tells me amazon will support them this year. There is no news yet on Google Home or Apple Home.
Lammertink says the plan is to bring energy management and reporting capabilities to the refrigerator. This would allow you to be part of a Matter-enabled whole-home energy management system. Unfortunately, they said they won't upgrade existing appliances to Matter (bad news for my Thermoador stove and dishwasher). “The challenges are too great,” he said. “We just can't risk locking your refrigerator.”
